My "ex" and I have remained friends. Were together for 8+ years. And apart for 2+ years. We used to travel 3-4 months throughout the world.

When he told me he was planning on going to Tahiti for the millennium ... I reminded him it was typhoon season. Last time we were there we got the tail end of a typhoon ... rough water ... no sun ... blah, blah. Fortunately we had great weather for a week in Bora Bora.

Also told him all the Y2K stuff ... airlines, telecomms, utilities, food flown in from France, etc.

Told him that possibly planes wouldn't be flying there then. Or, if he got there, he might have trouble getting back.

At first he was all excited that cruise line would be chartering their own planes.

Few weeks later told me flights would be non-refundable. Irked him. But he figured he was going so it really didn't matter.

I've been sharing some of my Y2K stuff with him. He knows it will be a problem ... but figures by going to Tahiti, he can avoid it.

His solution to avoid Y2K problems? Leave for his trip earlier ... and come back later. He's leaving for Australia December 5th and plans on returning from Tahiti mid-January. He decided to not take the plane the cruise line was offerring.

GEEZ - I give up.

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), July 03, 1999

Answers

Hope he really likes Tahiti!

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 03, 1999.

Maybe he has a Fletcher Chritian fantasy, Mutiny On The Bounty and all those exotic young ladies, with y2k (Captain Bligh) looming in the wings - seriously, I think he's insane, can't he fake a medical condition or something to get his money back...?

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), July 03, 1999.

Maybe he has a Fletcher Chritian fantasy, Mutiny On The Bounty and all those exotic young ladies, with y2k (Captain Bligh) looming in the wings - seriously, I think he's insane, can't he fake a medical condition or something to get his money back...? Either that or have him take my ex with him...:)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), July 03, 1999.

Cheryl- I have also been to Bora Bora. It truly is as James Michener described; "The most beautiful island in the world". (Did you kill some time in "Bloody Marys"? Did you (God-forbid) run into the notorious "George"?) I have to say that your husband's plan is one of the most intelligent things I've ever heard regarding Y2k. There is a very small population on BB. For centuries the inhabitants managed very well without any contact with the "outside". If ya gotta get "stuck" in a world gone mad, Bora Bora is definitely the place to be!

-- CD (not@here.com), July 03, 1999.

My roommate is planning a trip to Jamaica for the rollover. He thinks I'm a kook with my closet full of tuna and pork-n-beans. He's one stubborn SOB. He says Mike, if the SHTF as you claim it will, Ill be on the beach in Jamaica watchin you fools put the world back together. Can you say Pissed off natives? To his credit, he has been saving his gallon water jugs for me, unfortunately they have the snap on, not screw on caps. I'll have to convince him to change brands.

Oh, we (he, that is) bought a water filter for about $60. Its a PUR filter that connects directly to the faucet. He bought this because our water has a mold smell and hes kinda wimpy on certain issues. The water DOES taste and smell much better, but I dont know how useful this will be, come TEOTWAWKI. Any thoughts?

-- Takin' out the trash for (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), July 03, 1999.

Cheryl:

If he wants to be sunning himself far away WTSHTF, then maybe he is doing the right thing. Some say Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific isles are good places to be. Technological crunches are less prevalent in remote locales far away from congested cities. Ample fish and fruits are available year round. What need is there for a wood stove? Is this paradise WTSHTF?

Maybe he'll get his act together and realize he needs you. :)

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), July 03, 1999.

Makes me think of all the Millennium travellers, party cruises, revelers in exotic places, on vacation with their credit cards and a couple little suitcases -- surprise! STUCK in unfamiliar 3rd world conditions, no escape. How will the lawyers, PRs, managers, etc survive? No access to money or tools of their trade, maybe don't even know the local language. Answer: Start as slaves. Start over. If they're lucky.

From somebody who has started over several times in this lifetime -- it's for the birds, especially the older one gets. Even if I thought Y2K was going to be a 2, I wouldn't travel anywhere near Rollover!

Slave trading will come back in vogue: growth block!

xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 03, 1999.

So CD you are saying that you turn up on a remote island with just a suitcase full of tropical suits and swimwear, an Amex card and a few hundred bucks...

The shit hits the fan, no ships replenishing food, dubious water situation, Amex won't work, cash has run out, coconuts are too damned high in those pesky trees - shit, forgot my machete too, I hate it when I do that...hotels bursting at the gills with similar tourists with nothing save the clothes they turned up in and a toothbrush ...

And then we have the local folks that have probably always resented those rich Americans and Australians, whilst they subsist on minimum wages and tips...

Oh yes CD, you make eminent sense, what a wonderfull plan,. my god DOH! (dopeslap to the head)... where's the nearest travel agent...

Thanks CD, haven't had such a good laugh since I outed your pal Andy Ray earlier today...

Bwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha ha

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), July 03, 1999.

oops, sorry, that one was just me; Ashton is really into his own project beside this iMac, can't do the split-screen thing at the mo ;^) But he won't travel then either!

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), July 03, 1999.

He is crazy. I had been living in the Philippines for 3 years when concerns over Y2K brought me back. I had friends and connections and knew Cebuano, the local dialect, (even though English is universal there it helped sometimes to speak the language).

I predict that he is in for a great deal of hardship. My email is real. If you are concerned about him, convince him to write me and I'll give him extensive reasons to cancel his trip even if it means losing the ticket money.

-- Steve Hartzler (s.hartzler@usa.net), July 03, 1999.

CD,

Did you know that almost ALL the food consumed by tourists in Bora Bora ... is flown in from France??? I didn't, until we spent a few hours conversing with owner of Bora Bora Yacht(?) Club after our little Moped broke down.

He was from Marseille. His fantasy was to live on an island in French Polynesia and have a little restaurant bar.

When he opened the place he contracted with some Bora Bora fishermen to get fresh fish. First week he got bunches. Lots more than he could sell/cook. And then the fishermen never showed up again. Same thing happened with the next couple of fishermen he worked out a deal with.

Only way he could get "fresh" fish on any consistent basis ... was to have it flown in from France.

And what about the price of food?? They hardly grow any on the island. Did you see any farms on any of the islands? We didn't. Food's flown in from France.

Fantasy shatters when you look at the practical issues.

Bora Bora is a beautiful spot. But very pricey. We paid $700/night for a place without air-conditioning. Great location. Decorated beautifully. But our winter is their summer. Temps were 90+, and humid!! I wouldn't do that again. If I went back, I'd go another time of the year. And definitely not during Y2K transition.

Travel is the last thing on my mind. We did so much, I got burned out.

Am enjoying my new place in Oregon. Lots of work. Lots to learn. No more manicures. Always have dirt under my nails these days. Paying $700/night now sounds absurd to me. Priorities have changed.

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), July 03, 1999.

I'm getting tired of the condescending looks and comments I receive when I mention the potential results of a y2k breakdown. For my money the place to be if the world goes to shit IS Australia. WATER, FOOD ISOLATION. That and a little prep will go a long way, eh mate?

Side note: I recently worked with a UNIX programmer who took a position in Aussie land. How can I get in touch with him? I dont know much about international communications.

-- just a dumb (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), July 03, 1999.

Steve,

Thanks for your offer. I am concerned about him. But he's really stubborn. That's part of why he's my "ex". The approach I've been using is to get him to stockpile some stuff ... He did take my advice about meds. I'll just keep plugging away.

He's an engineer. He owned a company which made those "black boxes (with embedded systems)" - that end up on factory floors. He sold his company to a NYSE listed company. It took me over 6 months of sending him technical info to convince him that they had a potential Y2K problem. After 6 months - and my telling him he could be personally liable ... he finally "got it". He got the technical part, but still underestimates other aspects.

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), July 03, 1999.

just a dumb,

I'm getting tired of the condescending looks and comments I receive when I mention the potential results of a y2k breakdown.

We all are. SIGH

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), July 03, 1999.

He thinks I'm a kook with my closet full of tuna and pork-n-beans.

He's right...

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), July 03, 1999.

Here's another interesting stat Cheryl; [At least it was true when i visited about 10 years ago]

In one day there are more people staying in one large hotel in Hawaii than there are staying in all of the hotels of Bora Bora for 10 days.

Surprising how few tourists there were in such a high profile destination. The high tourist prices that you and I experienced must be the reason. I agree with you, paying that much now sounds absurd to me. Obviously the locals (who were genuinely friendly) can't afford such prices yet they do very well. My impression was there was more than enough produce on the island and offshore to allow them to live quite comfortably without paying the "import price". By the way, did you meet the infamous "George"?

-- CD (not@here.com), July 03, 1999.

I always wanted to run away to a South Sea island and slap mosquitoes. Visit Robert Louis Stevenson's grave. Play "Mutiny on the Bounty." Emulate Robinson Crusoe and come upon a footprint in the sand. Pretend I was on Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island." Look for Gilligan. Look harder for Ginger. Forget about Y2K.

A year ago I spun out a pleasant fantasy for self and friends: I was going to American Samoa, to just outside Pago-Pago, to pick pineapples on a plantation owned by "Dr. Gonzo" (whom I called Lave Mutu), the "Samoan attorney" sidekick to Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson) in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." A lazy summer fantasy, full of comic whoppers; but a few people thought it was true, including my former dissertation director, though he was initially amazed that the old druggie, Dr. Gonzo, "was still alive and could find his backside with both hands."

Ah well. The wings of fantasy won't quite fly a person to American Samoa or any other South Sea island, not even by coach class. And I would have eventually gotten tired of slapping those mosquitoes. Will stay here and slap Y2K bugs instead.

-- Don Florence (dflorence@zianet.com), July 04, 1999.

Great story Don. And don't give up on that dream to someday sail via the southern cross. In the meantime, mix yourself a mai tai, slide into a hammock and open up James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific".

-- CD (not@here.com), July 04, 1999.

"He thinks I'm a kook with my closet full of tuna and pork-n-beans."

He's right...

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), July 03, 1999.

Y2K Pro, my toaster-strudel for a noodle friend.

Was that directed at me or my pork-n-beans?

-- Today we celebrate our Independence (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

...whichever is smarter...

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), July 04, 1999.

Good one Pro! LMAOROTFL!! Oh, I've been told the money is on the beans...shhhhhhhhh, don't tell..........never mind, it's common knollege by now......

-- lifestomuchfunfory2k.. (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

Midwest Mike,

Hi from Australia, I think it's not a bad place to be for rollover either, nice and warm, and self sufficient in most things. Fairly safe from terrorists, reasonable political climate, free speech, excellent beer but draconian gun laws.

Regarding your mate, do you know where he's working or living? (I'm assuming you don't have an email address)

If you know the company you should be able to get their number from international directory enquiries, call the company's switch board and get him like that. If you've got his address snail-mail him, if you've got his phone number phone him!

What info do you have?

RonD

-- Ron Davis (rdavis@ozemail.com.au), July 04, 1999.

Thanks Ron, Other than his name and the fact he is a Unix programmer I have nothing much to go on. Eric and I worked together in St. Louis Missouri a couple of years ago. He's a stand up guy and I've always regretted the fact that I did not keep in touch.

Ron, could you give us an update on Australia's readiness? How about New Zealand? I have a friend there also.

-- missingmytazmaniandevil (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

I don't blame you for giving up on him. When I was a young boy I wished that women would control things. I wish that more than ever now.

-- Will (sibola@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

Cheryl,

Had considered a similar plan myself when first learned of Y2K fourteen months ago. Upon closer investigation this is what changed my mind:

Pull out a good map of the South Pacific. Circle the Spratley Islands then highlight his desired destination.

Was a little too close for comfort for me given the fact that the Chinese have been building what can only be interpreted as a forward staging area or jump off point for future military action anywhere in the Pacific, similar to Japanese conquests in WWII.

China, with the largest World War II vintage navy will be hard to stop until the oil runs out.

Show him some naval maps from combat action in South Pacific, to jog his memory about how thorough the Japanese were as they leap-frogged across the Pacific.

Then get a copy of "The Coming Conflict With China," by Bernstein and Munro. It is quite revealing! Here's to hoping that I am wrong!

-- (snowleopard6@webtv.net), July 05, 1999.